Friday, October 23, 2009

Forced by the current political environment to launch an educational campaign promoting capitalism, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has followed up with another educational campaign on the downsides of serfdom to help make sure people understand the difference between free enterprise and government control.

"We're just picking up on points made by Friedrich von Hayek," said a Chamber spokesperson, referring to the author of the 1944 classic "The Road to Serfdom," and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Hayek famously pointed out that when government centrally enforces economic plans, individuals lose their capacity to deal with others on a mutually voluntary and beneficial basis that tends to satisfy everyone's unique preferences. And when government inevitably fails in fully achieving its stated goals, it demands more power, not less.

The education campaign includes medieval tapestries of serfs following the orders of their lords and reminds people that "Serfdom sucks."